


Thomas Sanders: Gods Above!

by LizzieRStar



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: AU, Evil Deceit | Janus Sanders, Gen, Gods AU, I don't know the time period, M/M, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Original Character(s), Prinxiety - Freeform, Sanders Sides - Freeform, That part is kind of confusing, Thomas is a good friend, because i'm a basic bitch, deceit is evil, i ruined unicorns, logicality - Freeform, so no stinky boy im sorry, sorry about that, talyn joan terrence and valerie are good friends, that's how old this fic is, the sides are gods, there is some violence, thomas has his purple hair, written before janus name reveal, written before remus reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28652565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzieRStar/pseuds/LizzieRStar
Summary: When Thomas and his friends clean an old temple they find on the outskirts of town, they are visited by four godly beings...and as dark forces threaten to rise, Thomas must embark on a quest to protect his friends and his world.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Thomas Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Thomas Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Morality | Patton Sanders & Thomas Sanders, Thomas Sanders & friends - Relationship
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there guys, gals, and nonbinary pals! So this story is one I actually wrote a while ago, so I've been sort of fixing little errors and tweaking it a little bit and I really wanted to post it finally! It also was written out and finished in a notebook, so I have to translate it all to a google doc, because younger me is a jerk. But anyways, I hope you enjoy!

“Thomas! Wait up!” 

The young man with purple hair turned at the sound of his name. It was Joan, one of Thomas’ friends. They grew up in the village together. Thomas smiled as Joan caught up, panting.

“You disappear in crowds too easily.” they panted.

“I’m the only one here with purple hair, Joan.” Thomas chuckled.

“Yeah yeah…” They said, trying to act annoyed, but were smiling. “We should be heading back, or the others will get worried.” 

Thomas agreed, and so the two started walking. 

Near the outskirts of town, there was a house that wasn't quite as nice as they others in the village. This was where Thomas, Joan, and their friends lived. They were considered “different” to the others in town, and were labeled as outcasts. They tried not to let it bother them too much. 

“Heyo! Look who’s back!” Terrence said, "You two said it would only take a few minutes-"

“Yeah, I lost Thomas in the crowd a little.” Joan said sheepishly.

“Again Joan?” Talyn asked with a chuckle.

Joan huffed.

“It was one other time!” 

“Ah, give them a break.” Valerie said, coming and joining them.

The five of them laughed. They often joked around, but when it came down to it, they supported and protected each other. The people in the village didn't like them either because they were different, or they were friends with those labeled as “different”, or both. Thomas wished it could be different for them, that they didn't have to live away from everyone else, that he could do more to help all of them. He sighed. 

“I'm going for a walk.” He said, heading for the door. 

“But you just got back.” Talyn said, confused.

“Yeah, stay awhile Thomas!” Joan said.

“I'll be fine, I just need to...clear my head.” Thomas said.

His friends watched him go, a little concerned for him, but Thomas was a strong guy. And who knew? Maybe on his walk he'd come across something that would change their lives.

Thomas had walked outside of town. His usual route hugged the outer rim of town, but this time he went wide, until the central parts of the village were barely visible. As he walked, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned away from the village, and squinted into the distance. There was something out there. Curiosity got the best of him, and he walked further out, to the mysterious...thing that seemed to call to him. As he got closer, he saw that there was an old building that looked like a very small temple out there. It was dilapidated and in desperate need of some TLC. It seemed to have been abandoned some time ago. The light gray stone, carved with intricate designs, was cracked in some places and growing plants in others. Thomas tenderly walked up the steps, and into the pavilion of the temple. There were no doors anywhere, or glass, just openings in the walls. Four old shrines sat side by side, with about a foot of space between each one on the opposite wall. Thomas recognized them as the kind of shrines people used to leave offerings for gods at. 

_Maybe I should clean them up,_ Thomas thought, it seems wrong to just leave them like this. 

So he went back to the house, and grabbed some cleaning supplies. He tried to sneak out, but as he slowly opened the door, 

“Where are you going?” Valerie asked, making him jump a bit.

“Jeez Val, are you trying to give me a heart attack?!” He cried.

“Where are you going?” Terrence asked.

His other friends had come over to investigate the noises.

“And why are you carrying cleaning supplies?” Talyn asked. 

“Well…” Thomas started, he saw no reason to lie to them, “There's this old temple that I found on my walk that looked like it could use a good clean.” 

“Sounds cool.” Joan said, “but it will probably take more than that.”

They pointed to the small amount of supplies Thomas was carrying.

“You'll need some extra hands too.” Talyn said.

So, the five of them ended up walking back to the temple with almost all of their cleaning stuff. Mop, broom, sponge, two buckets of water, and a soap solution.  
“Woah, you weren't kidding…” Joan said, looking up at the building. 

“Yeah…” Terrence said, “but it's nothing a couple of hours of work can't put a dent into!” 

So they got to work. Talyn and Terrence worked on the outside, mopping the steps, and cleaning out mold. Valerie and Joan were working on the inside., and Thomas worked on the shrines.

Each one had had two plaques. One over them, and one on the bottom of the front. The top ones, he couldn't make out what they said. The bottom plaques had words he could make out. The first two looked like the oldest. 

The one to the far left had a heart carved into it, and the plaque read God of Morality and Innocence.

The second one had a brain carved into it, the plaque reading, God of Logic and Knowledge. 

The third shrine was white marble, opposed to the previous shrines made of polished limestone. It had the theater masks carved into it. Thomas remembered them from school. One for comedy, the other tragedy. This one read, God of Creativity and Imagination.

The final shrine he cleaned was smaller than the previous three. It was made of polished black stone., no symbols were carved into it, and there was only one plaque that read, God of Paranoia. There were words after it, but someone had defaced it a long time ago, so he couldn't read them. Thomas decided not to put too much thought into it. After a good couple of hours, Thomas and his friends admired their handywork. On the outside, the stone was still cracked in some places, and Terrence and Talyn hadn't been able to reach the highest part of the walls, so three fourths of each wall was clean, and the other fourth was covered in grime, like a dirty halo around the temple.

“It looks amazing!” Valerie declared, nodding approvingly.

The inside was great too. Same situation with the walls, but the floor and everything else looked amazing.

“I'm proud of you all.” Joan said.

“Me too” Thomas smiled.

The sun was starting to set.

“It's getting late, we should probably head home.” Terrence said. 

Thomas and his friends agreed, so the five of them set off back to the house. Thomas paused for a moment, and looked back at the shrines. Something about them gave him a weird feeling. A feeling of familiarity. Thomas turned away and ran to catch up with his friends.

It was probably nothing.

Probably.

-

Four figures were sitting on or standing on or by their shrine. 

“Interesting…” said the one above the shrine with the brain on it, “I say we pay these young mortals a visit.”

“Yay!” Exclaimed the one over the heart engraved shrine.

“Are you really sure about this?” Asked the one sitting perched on the white marble shrine with the theater masks.

“Positive” replied the first figure. 

“I'm still not sure about this…” said the one next to the small black shrine, if we're back, then they can't be far behind. We should be preparing, not being friendly with mortals.”

“Mortals who cleaned our temple and shrines.” Heart Shrine pointed out.

The figure next to the small shrine sighed. 

“Fine, but I'm going to stay vigilant, no matter what you guys want to do.” 

“Alright then,” Brain shrine said, “tomorrow morning.”

“See you soon Thomas!” Heart Shrine cried.

-

Thomas woke up to the feeling that someone was watching him. Since he and his friends had individual sleep areas, it wasn't a feeling he was used to, nor was it a feelings liked. He sat up, and nearly had a heart attack

“Morning Kiddo!” said an unfamiliar voice. 

Four people were in his room! Four unfamiliar people, and at the same time, they gave the same weird familiar feelings as the shrines. The one who had greeted him looked like one of the older ones. Well, kind of. He wore a blue button up shirt, brown pants, normal shoes, and what looked like it was supposed to be a hooded cat robe with the paw sleeves tied together in front of his chest like a cape, and the cat hood, complete with ears and a 2D face, pulled over his purple tinged hair. He also wore black, squarish glasses. 

“I'm known as Patton, nice to meet you kiddo!” He said with a bright smile. 

Thomas turned to see the other man wearing glasses. He looked about as old as Patton, at least five years older than Thomas, if not older. He also had purple tinted brown hair, and was wearing black button up shirt similar to Patton’s, with a blue necktie, jeans, and sneakers. To Thomas, the clothes they wore looked foreign. The man noticed him looking between him and Patton, looked down at his clothes, then back to Thomas.

"Ah, my apologies, I forgot that mortals weren’t quite this far in the textile industry yet.” he said. And with a snap of his fingers his shirt took the form of what looked like a robe with long sleeves, except the bottom was open, while the top remained closed like a normal shirt, and a long gray sash was tied around his waist. The blue tie remained.

“Greetings, I am known to many as Logic, but you may call me Logan.” He said.

The third guy looked several years younger than him. He wore a very prince-like outfit, complete with a red sash across his chest, golden epaulettes, golden cuffs, lots of red, white, and gold. He also had purple hair like the other two. 

“Greetings, mortal citizen!” He cried, he even talked like a prince, “My name is Roman. Charmed, I’m sure.”

Then he bowed.

The last person in the room was a boy who couldn’t have been older than his late teens. He wore a purple-black hoodie with large sleeves, and his hands were shoved in his pocket, so they weren’t visible. He wore long sweatpants and normal shoes. The kid also had purple hair, as well as dark stuff under his eyes.

“Hi.” he said.

“Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself buddy.” Patton urged.

The kid sighed.

“I’m Virgil.”

With the four of them together, Thomas was strongly reminded of the shrines, so he asked,

“Are you four...gods?” 

Virgil rolled his eyes.

“No, we’re genies here to give you three wishes.”

“Kiddo, be nice.” Patton said, “He’s never seen an immortal entity before, much less four in the same room!” 

“So, you are gods?” Thomas asked.

“Correctomundo.” Roman said.

“Then why do you guys kind of look like me?” Thomas inquired.

Logan examined the mirror in Thomas’ small bathroom.

“Hm, my best guess is that, we represent different aspects of a person’s personality, therefore every person will perceive us as similar versions of themselves.”

“Ooh, I love me with purple hair!” Roman said, nudging Logan aside and gazing into the mirror, “I might keep this look, it’s quite dashing.”

“Agree to disagree.” Logan said.

“So, what exactly are you guys doing here?” Thomas asked.

“Well, we wanted to thank you and your friends for cleaning up our temple.” Roman said.

“Oh. Ok, cool.” Thomas said. He needed to prove to himself that he wasn’t going crazy.

“Hey guys?” He called, “Can you come in here for a minute?”

Soon, Thomas’ friends friends came in, some still wiping sleep from their eyes.

“Morning Thom- What the hay-hay?!” Joan cried, spotting the gods.

“Thomas, who are these guys?” Valerie asked.

“And why do they kind of look like me?” Talyn added.

“They look like me to uh, me-” Terrence said, scratching his head, “Weird…”

“Well, that confirms that theory..” Logan nodded

“Well hey kiddos!” Patton cried, “I'm Patton, god of Morality and Innocence!”

He looked around, a grin growing on his face. 

“Woah, is there nine people in here, or is it just me?” 

The other three groaned, as did Valerie and Talyn. Thomas, Terrence, and Joan chuckled at the joke.

“I am Logan, god of Logic and Knowledge.” Logan greeted, bowing slightly.

“Greetings, Mortal citizens!” Roman said, giving a low bow with some fancy hand gestures, “I am Roman, god of Creativity and Imagination.”

Everyone looked at Virgil. He looked, uncomfortable. 

“I’m Virgil.” He said again.

“What are you the god of?” Talyn inquired.

“Well,,” Virgil explained,”It’s...complicated. I’m the god of Paranoia...”

Thomas remembered the plaque on the small shrine. 

“There's another thing too, isn't there?” He asked.

Virgil shrugged.

“If there is, I don't remember”.” He replied. 

“You see, we've been… well, dormant I think is the right term, for centuries, and over that long period of time, sometimes we forget. Especially if too many mortals forget about us.” Patton said, occasionally checking with Logan to make sure his terms were correct.

“Yes, it was one of the reasons we were dormant in the first place.” Logan agreed.

“What were the other reasons?” Valerie asked. 

The four gods froze.

“We’ll tell you later.” Logan said, though his tone made it clear that this was a subject they wanted to avoid.

“Well, since you're here, why don't you stay for breakfast?” Joan offered, “gods eat, right?”

“Oh yes, it's been ages since I've had good food!” Roman exclaimed.

“I could eat, I guess.” Virgil said quietly. 

“I’ll help in the kitchen!” Patton cried.

“Wait…” Joan said, before everyone had left the room, face palming, “I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have invited you, I was just trying to be nice. We barely have enough food for five people, much less nine!” 

Thomas’ heart sank.

“I'll go into town and get some more.” He said, going over to his closet and picking a clean outfit out of the few clothes he had.

“I'll go with you Thomas.” Terrence offered. 

“No, no, that's ok. It's better if I go alone.” Thomas declined. 

“Why’s that kiddo?” Patton asked.

“The townspeople...don't like things or people that are different then they are.” Talyn explained, “We're different, so they don't like us.”  
“I'll be back soon.” Thomas promised, shooing everyone out of his room so he could change.

As he entered the town, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned, and saw Virgil walking towards him.

“Hey Virgil.” He said, slightly confused.

“Hi.” The young god said, then answering Thomas’ unspoken question, “ I figured you'd want some company, even if you said you didn't.”

Thomas smiled a little. 

“Yeah, I guess… I guess I did.” He said.

They walked in silence for a few moments, before Virgil said, “Are you prepared for the worst Thomas?” 

Thomas stopped walking and looked at him.

“What?” He asked.

The teenaged god looked at him.

“If the worst comes to past, will you be ready for it?” He asked. 

“I- I’m not sure…” Thomas said, “what's coming?” 

Virgil was quiet for a little, then he said, “The others wouldn't want me to tell you this, but it's highly possible that when we were awakened, some others were too.  
“I think my memory was affected more than the others, but I know we have to be vigilant all the same.”

There was silence as Thomas processed this. 

“Come on,” Virgil said as they approached the market, “Patton probably knew I was going with you, so he gave me a list of stuff to bring back.”

Soon, both Thomas and Virgil carried several items in bags. Flour, milk, eggs, syrup, bread, among a couple of other assorted food items. Fruits and vegetables. As he looked at their load, Thomas’ heart sank again. 

“I don't know if I'm going to be able to pay for all of this.” He said to Virgil.

Some nearby people gave him weird looks, like he was crazy. In fact, not many people had paid attention to Virgil at all since they'd gotten there.

“Hey Virgil?” Thomas asked, lowering his voice a little as he walked to purchase the items.

“Yeah?” Virgil replied.

“Are you, like, invisible to all the townspeople?”

Virgil glanced around and smirked.

“Humans usually don't notice me, or any gods really, unless we directly talk or make contact with them.” He answered.

“Oh, so do people think I'm talking to myself?” 

Virgil thought for a moment.

“They might at first, then they'll notice me, go back to what they're doing, and forget about me by lunch.”

They made it to the register, where the man behind the counter scowled at Thomas. 

“That's a lot of food there boy.” He said.

“I know sir, I'm just getting it for the coming week…” Thomas replied, inwardly wishing to get this over with as soon as possible. 

“You sure you can pay for all of that?” The man asked.

Thomas quickly counted his money, and sighed with relief. He had just enough.

He put the money on the table and was going to start back when the man said, “Hold up son, this isn't enough.” 

Thomas turned around. A small group of people nearby snickered at his misfortune.

“But that's just enough!” Thomas cried, gesturing to the money, “everything's the same price, isn't it?” 

The man shook his head.

“The price just went up.” He said with a smirk.

Thomas suddenly felt an irrational fear, plus his anger seemed more amplified than normal. Searching for the source of these overwhelming emotions, he turned around and saw Virgil, whose eyes were filled with rage. He seemed to be radiating a dark gray-purple aura.

“That's unfair…” he growled through clenched teeth.

He put the food he was carrying down, and pulled up his hood, probably so the townspeople wouldn't think Thomas had a scary younger brother.

“You can't treat him like that just because he's different than you!” He yelled the words. 

Everyone in the market was looking at him now. They definitely saw him.

He marched up, and stood in front of the counter man, and said, “My friend already paid what he could spare, and he just barely had enough for that!  
“Just because everyone and his friends are different than you doesn't mean you can treat them any differently!”

The man, terrified, cowered under Virgil’s glare.

“Fine! Go!” He cried.

Virgil picked his stuff back up, and started walking back to the house. Thomas, not totally sure what to do, followed him. 

~

“Hey, you're back!” Valerie cried.

“Yep” Virgil said.

His hood was down again, and he didn't look like the angry version of himself that he'd been several minutes before. 

“How'd it go? Did you have too much trouble?” Joan asked.

Thomas glanced at Virgil, then said, “Nope, no trouble at all. It actually went pretty smoothly.” 

“Huh, we should take gods grocery shopping more often.” Talyn joked.

“Alright kiddos, to the kitchen!” Patton cried as he scooped up some of the food items and leading them to the kitchen, “I'm going to teach you how to make pancakes!”


	2. Chapter 2

Gods could work miracles, Thomas decided as he dug into one of the best foods he'd ever had. Patton had whipped up fluffy, flat cakes with less sugar, no icing, but was delicious with milk and syrup.

“They taste even better with chocolate chips or blueberries.” Roman said as he stuffed his face in a very un-princely manner.

“Well, these are great either way.” Terrence said.

“Thank you so much.” Valerie said in agreement, “This seems like, well, a gift from the gods!” She realized her pun, and half chuckled, half groaned.

Patton looked very proud of her. As he finished up his pancakes, Thomas noticed Virgil leaving the kitchen and decided to follow him.

“Hey, Virgil?” He called as he entered a room or two over, “what're you doing in here?”

Virgil turned and faced him.

“I'm sorry about earlier,” he said, “I lost control, and now you and your friends could be affected by it…” 

Thomas put a hand on his shoulder.

“Virgil, it's ok. You stood up to them, and I'm actually really proud of you.”

Virgil kind of grinned.

“Thanks Thomas.” 

Thomas beamed, “you know, I think we're gonna be friends, kid.”

Virgil narrowed his eyes. 

“Hey, don't forget I'm centuries older than you.”

“Right, right. Now let's get back to the others, or they'll start to worry.” Thomas said.  
He was sure there was a reason behind why Virgil reacted the way he did, but he would tell him in his own time if he made the decision to. Virgil seemed like a good kid, despite being centuries old.

“Thomas! Virgil! Get in here! Roman and Patton are seeing who can fit the most pancakes in their mouth!” Joan yelled from the kitchen.

Thomas and Virgil grinned at each other, not wanting to miss this, and ran to the kitchen.

“Alright, so now that you gods are awake, what are you going to do?” Talyn asked.

It was after breakfast, and the four gods and five friends sat in the small living room. Patton and Romans had gotten sick from their “pancake war” earlier. Who knew even gods could suffer from stuff like that. 

“I told you both you were going to regret it later.” Logan told them from outside the bathroom door.

“Zip it Pocket Protector.” Roman had growled back. 

“Well, I'm probably going to go around the world, and help people the best I can.” Patton said, “That's my plan anyway.” 

“I'm going to as far as I can and spread my wealth of knowledge.” Came Logan’s answer.

“I will restart my Quest for glory!” Roman cried, “And spread powerful and wonderful ideas!” 

“I'm staying here.” Virgil stated. 

Everyone turned to look at him, confused.

“What?” He asked, “I'm not going to be able to help anyone out there. I gotta keep Thomas and his friends vigilant.”

Thomas glanced at the three other gods. They were giving each other looks he couldn't quite decipher. All he could get was that they were in agreement with each other. At that moment, he remembered something Virgil had said on the way into town.

“Hey, do you mind if I talk to the gods alone for a little?” He asked his friends.

“Sure Thomas.” Valerie said. 

She, Talyn, Joan, and Terrence left the room. Thomas turned to the gods.

“What else got released?” He asked. 

Immediately, Patton, Logan, and Roman tensed up. Roman turned to Virgil.

“Did you tell him something?”

Virgil feigned innocence.

“I don't remember anything to tell, remember Princey? My memory's gone to Hades.”

“Don't play dumb Houndoom-and-Gloom!” Roman retorted.

“Really? That doesn't even exist yet-” Virgil scowled.

“This is not the time for name-calling and accusations.” Logan said.

“Roman, apologize to Virgil.” Patton said.

“I will not!” Roman cried indignantly. 

“Roman.” Patton said, in a voice only a parent could use. 

Roman groaned.

“Fiiine. I'm sorry Virgil.” He grumbled.

“Good, now for your question kiddo.” Patton said. 

With a snap of his fingers, the five of them popped into the temple with their shrines. Thomas stumbled for a second, his vision fuzzy for a split second. 

“Um, next time maybe warn me first, before we travel by snap.” He said.

Patton nodded, then gestured to the shrines.

“Our shrines are the most prominent,” he said, “But there are...others. Others that people would prefer to forget.”

Thomas followed the four gods to a secret door in the far corner of the temple that Thomas hadn't noticed before. Inside, there were several shrines made of dull stone and in similar condition to the temple before its remodeling. One in the center was raised above the rest. Thomas maneuvered his way to it, and squinted at the barely legible plaque There was a name that could no longer be seen, and beneath it were the words God of Deceit. 

“Deceit?” He asked, turning to to the gods.

“I suppose, since we could represent the different sides of human personalities, you could call them the Dark Sides.” Roman said.

“Dark Sides?” Thomas asked. 

“These gods, they chose to influence the negative traits of humans . They took pleasure in bringing misery to mortals and other gods.” 

Another thought occurred to Thomas.

“They chose to be gods of negative things?” He asked.

Logan answered this.

“Most of them, yes. Gods are usually made, and natural born gods are rare. Gods are usually made when a demigod, or especially gifted mortals, die heroically or do something like save the world or save many lives.” He explained, “Normally a born god who want to look at your life and decide what you would be best suited for, for example, I was a teacher. Then they give you the choice to become a god on the brink of death. If you accept, they make you immortal.” 

“Have people ever said no before?” Thomas asked.

“Of course, those who feel they've lived their life and are ready to move on, people who just don't want to be immortal, their are a lot of reasons someone makes the choice to not be immortal.” Logan said.

“And normally, made gods stick with the born god that made them immortal.” Roman said.

“Woah,” Thomas said, “that's a lot of information… I have so many questions…”

“Which we can answer later.” Virgil said.

He was looking around nervously, eyes darting from one place to another, “We’ve been here too long.”

Thomas didn't understand, but he definitely felt something that sent chills down his spine.

“You're probably right.” Patton said. With a snap of his fingers, they were back in the living room. 

“Ok, We need to warn my friends about these dark gods.” Thomas said, starting towards the door.

“Wait!” Patton cried, “you shouldn't tell them, it could put them in danger!”

Thomas stopped. Putting his friends in danger was the last thing he wanted to do.

“So, what do I tell them when they ask about what we talked about?” Thomas asked.

“Easy, just make something up!” Patton shrugged.

“Patton, you want Thomas to lie?” Roman asked.

“I know I've been against it in the past, but sometimes lying is good.” Patton said with another shrug. 

Thomas gave it a little thought, then said, “I-I'm sorry Patton. I can't lie to them, I think it's worth the risk if they know.” 

Then, Patton’s entire demeanor changed. He rolled his eyes and sneered, “Oh well done Thomas, you're so mature.” He said sarcastically, slow clapping.

“What the heck…?” Thomas said, utterly perplexed. 

“I knew something was off…” Virgil said, “You're not Patton.”

Logan was analyzing not-Patton, and said, “ah, I see. It's-” Patton motioned with his hand, and Logan covered his own mouth.

“Ooh, I get it now….” Roman said.

“I don't, what's going on?!” Thomas cried.

“You have to give us permission to tell you…” Roman said. 

“Permission? Why? You're gods!” Thomas cried.

“All immortals have few rules, but we need to follow them or we lose our powers and immortality.” Virgil said, “one of the most important rules is don't involve mortals in godly affairs without their permission. So if you want to know, you can know.” 

“I don't know if I want to know…” Thomas said. 

“Ooh, I don't know either Thomas, you may not like what you find!” Not-Patton mocked.

Thomas made up his mind then and there. 

“Fine, tell me!”

Logan removed his hand from his mouth, pointed at Not-Patton, and yelled, “DECEIT!” 

Instantly, Not-Patton changed. He still resembled Thomas with purple tinged hair, but half of his face was marred by snake scales and a yellow snake eye. He wore a black top hat that sat perched on his head, as well as a white dress shirt, black tuxedo vest lined with yellow, slacks, dress shoes, a yellow lined black cape, yellow gloves, and a gold and black three foot staff with a purple jewel. 

This man looked about as old as Patton and Logan, and he was staring smugly at Virgil. 

“Long time no see kid.” He said.

“What the heck?!” Thomas cried.

“Thomas, you ok?” Terrence’s voice came from outside the door. 

“Fine! I'll talk to you in a minute!” Thomas called, then he turned back to the problem at hand, “Deceit?” 

“That's my name, don't wear it out.” Deceit chuckled.

“What are you doing here Ja-” Roman started, then caught himself, “What are you doing here Deceit?”

“Why, I just wanted to visit my old pals. Is that so bad?” Deceit asked. 

“It is when you're a vindictive god who wants to watch the world burn.” Virgil growled.

“Oh, you're one to talk Virgil,” Deceit said with an eye roll, “you were one of those ‘vindictive gods’ centuries ago, before you started hanging around these gods.” 

Virgil went pale. 

“Oh, did you not remember? I'd heard your memory was crap now.” Deceit cackled. 

Thomas looked over at Logan and Roman who looked very concerned. At that moment, Patton popped into existence next to Deceit.

“You guys left me back at the temple, where's the fire?”

Thomas was so relieved. In all the excitement and confusion, he'd forgotten to worry about Patton, and that made him feel guilty. Patton looked at Deceit, who actually looked...worried? Scared even?

“Heya! I hate to do this, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, considering that Thomas’ friends will be in her soon, and that won't end well for any of us.” He said nicely.

“Enjoy this little world of safety and security while you can, Thomas,” Deceit smirked, “because with the growing web of lies here, it's surely not going to last.”

Then he disappeared with a clap. The moment he was gone, Talyn, Joan, Terrence, and Valerie ran into the room.

“Everything alright?” Joan asked, “we heard you yell.” 

“Yeah.. yeah, I'm fine,” Thomas said, “just a lot of stuff to process.”

“What kind of stuff? Valerie asked, reading the look on his face.

Thomas looked over at the four gods, each with a different emotion displayed on his face. Logan, annoyance, most likely directed at Deceit. Roman, concern, probably for Virgil. Virgil, angry, at Deceit, and the other gods for keeping secrets. Patton, a look of pleasant confusion.

“Well, you need to give them permission first…” he said.

“Deceit, huh?” Terrence said, “That's a new one.”

“Yeah, that's what I thought too.” Thomas said.

“All this crazy god stuff, and it hasn't even been a whole day yet.” Joan said, shaking their head. 

A stomach growled. 

“Wouldn't think anyone would be hungry so soon after the breakfast we just had.” Thomas joked.

His friends looked at him.

“Thomas, you and these four have been talking for hours.” Talyn said.

Thomas’ eyes widened.

“Are you serious?!” He cried. His friends nodded.

“Time flies when you're having fun kiddo.” Patton said.

“Yeah, speaking of flying, we should go back to the temple.” Logan said, “I think we have some talking to do.”

“Damn right you do.” Virgil growled. 

The four gods disappeared.

“I’ll be right back.” Thomas said to his friends.

They tried to protest, but he quickly said, “I'm just going to the temple, I'll be right back.”

He walked to the temple and stealthily snuck as close as he could without the four gods inside noticing him. Virgil was saying,

“-didn't you tell me before?! Instead, you suppress my memories?”

“I didn't want to kiddo, but I didn't want you to feel guilty when we woke up-”

“Or, you didn't want me to go back to their side?” Virgil spat, “Do you seriously think I’d consider that?”

“Well, when you act like this…” Roman muttered.

Virgil whirled on him, snarling “Shut up Princey!”

Roman looked taken aback by the venom in Virgil’s voice, and a pang of hurt flashed across his face.

“So where are the rest of them, hm?” Virgil turned back to Patton, “Where are the rest of my memories?”

“I didn't touch any other memories...and you eventually made your way back to our side kiddo, I-” 

“Don't call me that!” Virgil yelled, before his form changed. He became smaller. Soon, he had shifted into a raven and flown away. It was only after he left that Thomas realized Virgil had been putting out that fear and anger again, like he had at the market.

“Virgil!” Roman yelled, shifting into a dove and flying after him. Patton sighed.

“I'll go talk to him, the poor kid…” he paused, “you can come out now Thomas.” 

Thomas jumped a little, and peeked out from behind a pillar.

“Uh, hi” he said awkwardly.

“Logan, can you take him home? I think he's had enough excitement for one day.” 

“Of course Pat.” Logan said.

So, he and Thomas walked back to the house. Then he said, “Thomas, perhaps you might want to stay back here for a while, for your safety and sanity.” 

Thomas nodded. “Yeah, you're probably right.” He said. 

He went back to his friends, and the rest of his day was completely normal.

“Thomas, you should learn to organize better.” He heard the next morning. 

Opening his eyes, he saw Logan at his closet and sat up. 

“Logan, what are you doing here, again?” He asked, while a part of his brain went Ok, not a dream then… The events of the previous day had been so crazy, he hadn't been one hundred percent sure they had actually happened. 

“Where are the others?” He asked.

“Roman and Patton are still out looking for Virgil.” Logan said, and worry crept into his voice ever so slightly, “He was very upset yesterday..”

“Yeah, what was he so angry about?” Thomas wondered, “I heard something about memories?” 

“...Patton, he wanted to protect Virgil the guilt and regret that he used to feel, so before our hibernation, he suppressed all of Virgil’s memories of being a Dark Side..” Logan explained. 

“You guys can do that?!” Thomas cried.

“No, not all of us, just Patton.”

“Why’s that?” Thomas inquired.

“Patton was born a god. He’s more powerful than me and the other two combined. Deceit is a natural god too, though he’s not as old as Patton.” Logan said, “As for memories, Patton has had almost eons of practice, and he’s an empath on top of everything else. He’s able to locate our strongest emotions. If they’re bad enough to make us want to forget, then he helps us.”

Thomas took a moment to process all of that, before asking his next question.

“Virgil was upset about some other memories too, right?”

Logan nodded, “Usually, made gods like Roman, Virgil, and I remember important events, people, and things from our mortal life. The things that shaped us into who we are. For example, Patton used to live in my village, before I knew he was a god. We were friends, and he encouraged me to start teaching.” Logan explained,”Why do you think Roman cares so much about Virgil? They were best friends in life, and I think it might have gone further if they’d stayed alive, or if Virgil ever remembered….” Logan trailed off, the said, “If you want to know more, I’d ask Roman at a better time. It isn’t my story to tell.” 

Thomas didn’t know what to say. After a moment or two, he decided to change the subject. “This, hibernation thing you were in, what were the other reasons?” He asked, “You said Mortals were only one of the reasons.” 

“That’s something that the others should be here to talk about.” Logan said. 

“Oh, ok. That makes sense.” Thomas agreed.

Logan left to go check on Roman and Patton’s progress finding Virgil, and help them. 

“I do hope the kid’s ok…” he had said before he left. 

Thomas walked out into the main room where his friends were playing a card game. 

“Morning Thomas!” Joan said. Terrence and them seemed to be teaming up against Talyn and Valerie.

“Morning.” He replied.

“Can we deal you in?” Valerie asked, “Me and Talyn need all the help we can get.” 

“Liar! You two are winning!” Terrence said. 

“Which is why we need Thomas’ help maintaining that lead.” Talyn argued. 

Thomas laughed and sat down. “I’ll let you finish this game, then you can deal me in the next one.” 

“Suit yourself.” Valerie said.

After a few more games, they ate, then went to work. It was the beginning of the week, and they all worked in town. His friends had what people called “actual jobs”, while Thomas worked as many odd-jobs he could find, and that people would give him. Deliveries, Cleaning, things like that. 

Outside of jobs, one of his favorite things to do was helping out at the only school in the village. It was grades Pre-K to 12th, with about 15 kids in each grade. Most of the teachers didn’t really like him, like most of the village, but the middle school and high school teachers loved having him help out in class. When he was there, they did fun activities, they told jokes, everyone had a good time. Especially Thomas. This day, after cleaning and organizing the products at the market, and running a few errands from the bakery, he went over to the school and spent time with the eighth graders. 

As he was going to leave about an hour or so later, a girl from the class he’d been in several times now said, “Mr. Thomas?”   
He turned to look at her, and her name came to mind. 

“Hey Lia,what’s up?” He asked, smiling.

“Can I...talk to you?” She asked.

Confused a little, Thomas replied, “Of course Lia, go ahead.” 

Away from everyone else, she took a deep breath.

“Is it bad to be different?” 

Thomas wasn’t expecting this, and said, “Of course not Lia, everyone’s different then one another. Why do you ask?” 

She didn’t looked totally convinced when she said, “All of my friends are talking about which boys they think are cute, and stuff like that….But I can’t tell them who I think is cute…” 

Thomas started to see where this is going. “You don’t have to tell me Lia, this is your business.”

“But I need to tell someone who understands being different!” She said, then she quickly added, “I’m sorry! That was mean, I didn’t-“

“Lia” Thomas smiled, “It’s ok, I don’t take any offense. I’m honored you trust me enough to tell me something like this.” 

Lia took a deep breath. “Her name is Mandy. She’s really nice and funny, and she’s a good friend of mine…and I think she likes me back… but if I’m wrong I’m afraid it’ll ruin our friendship.”

Thomas was touched. “Thank you for trusting me.” He said, “I say continue to be her friend, and maybe find a time to talk to her. If she doesn’t feel the same way, then at least you can still have her friendship. I do understand what you’re going through, I’ve gone through it myself. I also know that no matter what happens, you’ll pull through. You’re a strong kid.” 

Lia smiled. “Thank you so much Mr. Thomas!” She cried. She gave him a quick hug, then went back to her classroom. 

As he walked out of the door, Thomas couldn’t help but smile too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we meet our villain- Hope you enjoyed this new chappie!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up there's blood mention near the end!

Weeks went by, turning into months. Thomas and his friends fell into a normal routine, and all the god stuff they had experienced began to feel more and more like a dream, a fantasy. They probably would have all written it off as one too, if they hadn’t visited the temple they had cleaned, where the gods came from. Thomas visited it every day, hoping that one of those days one of the gods would be there and give him some news, or at least something. He was still worried about Virgil, and he hated being in the dark. Then came the day he was launched back into the world of gods once again. 

It was a peaceful afternoon. Thomas was sitting on the steps that led into the pavilion of the temple, when he suddenly heard voices from inside.

“Do you realize how worried I- how worried we were?” That was Roman’s voice.

“I’m beyond happy you’re ok kiddo, but if you ever scare me like that again-” Patton couldn’t finish his sentence. 

“You better make this up to them Virgil, I haven’t seen them that worried in a millenium.” Logan said. He sounded exhausted. 

Thomas peeked into the temple and saw Patton and Roman smothering Virgil in a hug, Logan lightly hugging the outside in an odd looking group hug. Without looking up,  
Patton called,

“Thomas, buddy! Come here and join us!” he gestured for Thomas, who jumped a bit, but quickly obliged. 

After Virgil was able to breath again, Thomas gave him a not-so-crushing hug. 

“I missed you dude!” he cried.

“Yeah, yeah.” Virgil said, rolling his eyes, but smiling slightly. 

“My friends are going to be so happy to hear you’re back!” Thomas said, grinning.

The four gods looked at each other, then then back at Thomas.

“Um, Thomas? We’d prefer it if you kept our return on the DL for now.” Roman said.

“The what?” 

“The downlow, keep it on the Downlow for now.” 

“Oh, ok.” Thomas nodded, “But why? Has something happened?”

“You could say that.” Logan said, “It’s complicated.”

Thomas looked at him.

“Look, I know that I’m just a mortal, but I think I’m capable of handling whatever information you throw at me.” He said.

The other gods turned to look at Patton. 

“What?” He asked, then realization dawned on his face, “Ohh, I think it should be fine as long as Thomas doesn’t tell anyone until the conflict is resolved. We don’t want mortals to start panicking”

That worried him a little. 

“Should I be panicking about something?” 

“Let’s just sit down and talk for a minute.” Patton said, sinking into a criss-cross applesauce position. This made Thomas smile. Patton acted like such a dad sometimes, and such a child at others.

Everyone sat, legs crossed, and Patton began to talk. 

“I should probably start near the beginning.” he said, “ Millennia ago, the natural born gods started to reward their half-mortal kin, demigods for their heroic actions by making them immortal gods, should they want it. However, one god started granting immortality to people who died doing evil deeds instead of heroic.”

Thomas took a wild guess. “Deceit.” 

“Right.” Patton confirmed, “Deceit wanted to be the sole ruler of the world, without any of the other gods, and he couldn’t use mortals, because only other immortals, or those with immortal blood can really injure, imprison, or really do any harm to another immortal. So, he was building an army. This was a couple of decades after Virgil and Roman became gods, so I decided to team up with them and Logan!  
“We were going for the big fish, Deceit. We thought if we stopped him, we’d stop his plans, and the other in his army would give up… However, the battle got turned on us, so using the rest of our strength, we combined our collective power, and created a kind of vacuum that trapped Deceit, his army, and us for centuries, in an almost sleep-like state. Until you and your friends woke us up!” 

Thomas nodded, “So, him being back definitely warrants us mortals panicking then…”

“He is trying to wake his army up again so he can take over your world and gets in his way…” Roman nodded, “So, in the most understated possible way, Yes.”

Thomas’ heart dropped

“Oh-” he gulped

As he mulled over everything so far, he noticed that no one had explained Virgil’s past with the Dark Sides. He decided that Virgil would tell him in his own time, if or when he wanted to. That wasn’t Thomas’ business.

“So, what are you planning to do?” he asked

“I’m afraid our powers are still too depleted to accomplish what we did before…” Logan said, adjusting his glasses, “It would take time to build it up again, time we don’t have…”

“Then what’s the plan?” 

“The Artifacts…” Patton answered, his voice getting a shade more serious.

Roman and Virgil paused, looking at him, Logan didn’t look surprised. Thomas was confused.

“Patton, are you sure?” Virgil asked

“Yeah kiddo, I am…” Patton nodded, “They are the only things we have that can boost our powers instantly.”

“Artifacts?” Thomas asked, “Are these like, normal artifacts, or…?”

“god artifacts” Roman clarified,

“What are god artifacts?” Thomas asked, clueless. It was a feeling he was getting way too used to.

“When someone becomes immortal, typically a deity, a portion of their full power is placed into an object that was important to them in life, as a way to keep the balance of power among immortals.” Logan explained, “The artifacts of naturally born deities are created when they’re born. We deities need to protect our artifacts, because anyone who got their hands on them would be able to wield our power, or destroy it more likely.”

“So, where are yours?” Thomas asked

“Spread out, and protected by anti-deity magic and guarded by mythical beasts” Roman said, “That’s how most deities decide to protect their artifacts.”

“Well...No pain, no gain right?” Thomas said, “We should get started then, yeah?”

The gods looked at each other again, before looking back at Thomas 

“Are you sure you want to come Thomas? This might get extremely dangerous for a mortal, and we wouldn’t want you getting hurt…” Patton said.

“I’m sure” Thomas said, “Just let me pack a bag and tell my friend I’m going to be gone for a while..” 

When he got home, his friends could tell something was going on.

“Hey Thomas, whatcha up to?” Talyn asked, poking their head into his room as Thomas was packing his extra set of clothes.

“Hey Talyn, I’m just going on a trip.” he said.

“Ooh where to?” Terrence asked, poking his head in over Talyn’s, almost comical due to the height difference.

“I...I can’t explain right now…”

“Why not?” Valerie asked, joining the other two.

“Are you all waiting to ask me 20 questions?” he chuckled

They filed into his room, Joan emerging last

“We just want to know if you’re going into danger..” they said, “We can guess who you’re going with, but if there’s danger, we want to come with you!” 

The other three nodded

Thomas was touched by his friends’ words, but he wanted to protect them too…If anything happened to him, he didn’t want it happening to his friends.  
He gave them each a hug, and said, “I’ll be fine, I’ll explain everything when I get back!”

Then, he made his way back to the temple, hoping what he said was true.

“How long does it take to get to the artifacts?” Thomas asked Logan, his bag slung over his back and chest.

“That depends on the artifact” Logan replied, “Mine is the closest, and since it’s protected by magic, Patton can’t instantly snap us there. It should be a few hours by horseback..”

“Horseback?”

Logan nodded, “Roman, if you would?”

Roman grinned, “Ask, and you shall receive!”

In an instant, he was a majestic chestnut stallion. 

“Hop on!” he grinned. 

It was weird, seeing a horse talk, and grin for that manner.

“Can you carry all of us?” Thomas asked, doing as he said

“You doubt my strength?” Roman scoffed, another strange expression Thomas didn’t know a horse could make

“N-no, I-”

Roman snorted, “I’m joking Thomas. I can of course, but-”

“It would be easier if the rest of us shapeshift too” Logan finished

“Yes, that-” 

“Oh, fun!” Patton cried, and suddenly he was a beagle puppy with markings around his eyes that resembled his glasses, hopping up and climbing onto Roman’s back, “I won’t say neigh to that!”

Virgil snickered, the first noise he’d made since Thomas returned to the temple.

Logan nodded, “This could work..” And in a blink, he became an owl who also had markings around his eyes, “If you ignore the pun”

Tentatively, Virgil got onto the horse and became a black cat. “I was not making that jump…” he mewled.

“Alright, let’s go!” Roman grinned, and started galloping, Logan flying above them. 

~.~

After a few hours or so, they arrived. Logan’s artifact was hidden in a small temple like structure made of sandstone. A statue of a lioness with a human womans face sat by the door, it’s eyes closed. They all dismounted, the four gods reverting to their human forms. The five of them approached the statue and the entrance, but when they got about a foot away, The statues’ eyes opened. They weren’t carved eyes either. They looked very much alive, a bright green in contrast to her sandstone body. 

“Stop” The statue spoke in a deep, accented woman's voice. They did.

“That’s a sphinx” Logan whispered to Thomas, “Her name is Tiala” 

“To enter, you must first answer a riddle,” Tiala said, “Answer correctly, and you may pass. Fail to do so…” 

She licked her lips, eyes focused on Thomas, “And I will devour you..” 

“Very well..” Logan said, stepping between Thomas and The Sphinx, probably noticing the hungry look in her eyes, “Ask me your riddle.” 

“I was not talking to you, Logic” Tiala growled

Thomas felt himself pale a little

“That is not necessary, He’s with us.” Logan said, an edge in his voice

“He must answer the question Logic, alone, or all your lives are forfeit!” she snarled

Thomas felt the growing familiarity of a sinking stomach. Him? He had to answer the riddle?

“When she says all our lives…?” He started softly, looking at the gods

“Sphinxes are an immortal species, so yes, it is possible she could do us all harm…” Logan nodded gravely.

“Leave it to you to pick the hardest guardian Logan…” Roman murmured, “Riddle, of all things!” 

“He’s the god of Logic and Knowledge, Roman. Critical thinking.” Virgil pointed out, sarcasm dripping from his voice, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised, “Like duh-”

Roman opened his mouth to retort, but Patton interrupted, hands on his hips “Ok ok, let's not start a fight right now. That’s not going to help now is it?”

The two younger gods shook their heads, like kids getting scolded by their dad. Then, the dad in the scenario turned back to Thomas, a grin on his face. “Thomas, I believe in you! Use that big brain of yours!”

Thomas took a deep breath, nodding, “Thanks…” then he turned and said to Tiala, “Ok, ask me your riddle...”

The sphinx smiled, then recited, “The part of the bird that is not in the sky, which can swim in the ocean and always stay dry. What is it?”

Thomas began to think. Part of a bird that’s not in the sky...What could that be? And what can swim in the ocean without getting wet? Maybe the thing isn’t on the actual bird itself? He wondered, Think Thomas, think… But he was stumped. The sphinx’s cold gaze wasn’t helping him stay focused. They were fixed on him as she began to pace, the sun casting her ominous shadow… Thomas’ eyes widened as it clicked. 

“It’s shadow!” he cried, “The bird’s shadow! During the day the bird’s shadow would be down in the ocean, and it can’t get wet!”

Logan’s sigh of relief told him he’d gotten it right.

Tiala snarled, looking disappointed, “Correct...you may enter…” 

Roman and Virgil let out a relieved breath in unison, and Patton gave thomas a pat on the back

“Good job son!” he said proudly

“You know Thomas, not many mortals manage to survive sphinxes…” Logan said as they entered, Tiala’s eyes following Thomas until he was inside, before closing again, “You should be proud…” 

“He got lucky…” Virgil said softly, at the same time Thomas thought it himself. 

“Don’t put the boy down Virgil-” Roman chastised, elbowing him slightly as they entered the main chamber. Thomas paused and looked around the chamber in awe. It was sandstone, like the outside, but polished and smooth in comparison. Bookshelves lined the walls and snaked around the room, looking like the largest library he’d ever seen. The books seemed to shift and change positions...

“So, what are we looking for exactly?” Thomas asked

“It’s a book…” Logan started

“Typical…” Roman muttered, eyeing the dozens of bookshelves

“But not just any dusty old book” The bespectacled god reassured them, giving Roman a slightly annoyed look “As it’s my artifact, infused with godly power, it’ll appear to be in almost perfect condition compared to the others.”

“Then let’s get a-searchin’!” Patton cried happily, ever the optimist

The four gods and Thomas spread out through the room and started looking around, pulling out books that looked to be in better condition than others. There were several books on the floor as well, even before Roman and Virgil started throwing them at each other. Thomas was at the opposite wall to them, and only heard thuds, the two gods’ indistinguishable bickering, and Logan yelling, “That is centuries of knowledge you two are carelessly throwing about!”

Thomas couldn’t help but chuckle, though he hoped the books were ok. He turned his attention to the bookcase in front of him, just as the covers shifted again. A turquoise spine caught his attention. It was dusty like many of the others, but compared to the ones around it that looked like they’d crumble to dust at the slightest touch it looked almost new. He pulled it off the shelf, coughing at the cloud of dust that followed it down from the shelf and into his face. When his fingers touched it, knowledge seemed to flow through him. It was intense, he was flooded with facts, the future, the secrets of the universe itself. He felt like his brain was going to explode, when Logan took the book for him. Instantly, all that extra knowledge went away. He was left with only the knowledge he’d had before grabbing the book.

“Found the artifact-” he guessed

“You’re extremely lucky, Thomas, you know that?” Logan said, adjusting his glasses, “Any other mortal who held my artifact for that long would have gone insane or died of the spot from the sheer overload of information-”

Thomas nodded, “I-I thought my head was going to burst..” he admitted

“It very well might have..” Logan said seriously. Thomas didn’t think he was joking.

“Hey, you found it!” Paton cried, emerging from around a bookshelf with the other two

“Nice job Thomas..” Virgil nodded, grinning slightly

“Let’s get out of here,” Roman said, giving a dramatic sneeze, “I think I’m allergic to dust, or old books. Or both-” 

“I don’t think it’s medically possible for an immortal to be allergic to something like that…” Logan pointed out at the five of them walked out of the temple

“Yeah yeah-” Roman waved him off as they passed Tiala, who remained as still and inanimate as a statue.

“Alright Roman, time to get your horse on!” Patton grinned

Roman nodded, doing so, thankful for the lack of horse puns this time around. Not yet at least.

“I think I’ll fly this time-” Virgil said, before becoming a Raven.

Logan got on the horse, before turning into a rabbit with the familiar glasses markings. His artifact transformed with him. How, Thomas didn’t know, but he decided not to question it. 

“Ooh, I’ll change too!” Patton smiled, hopping up and turning into a kitten and sitting next to rabbit Logan.

“So who’s artifact is next?” Thomas asked, hopping up with the other two

Roman the horse seemed to grin, “That would be mine!” he said, before starting to gallop. The sphinx and the temple getting smaller and smaller behind them.

“So, what should we be worried about at your artifact Roman?” Thomas asked after a bit. Better to be prepared, right?

“Oh, unicorns-” Roman said casually

A loud snort could be heard from Virgil above. Could birds snort? Thomas wondered. Apparently one could. 

“Well what do you know..” Roman groused, obviously annoyed, “Pigs have finally started flying-” 

Virgil was still chuckling above, but he made an effort to stop, saying “Sorry Ro, but unicorns? I’m kinda shocked your artifact hasn’t been taken or targeted before-” 

Roman seemed to roll his eyes, “Someone’s been reading too many old fairytales...Don’t be fooled by outwards appearances, my friend.” he said, “Unicorns can sense a person's intentions. If one were to come to try and take my artifact, or in general enter their vicinity with negative and evil intentions, well... let’s just say they make quite the security. I have had a few foolish mortals try to take it…”

They soon arrived at an old building made of grayish-white opaque stone. It was small, like Logan’s, with grass and a small herd of grazing unicorns around it. In some ways, they were just what Thomas expected. They had beautiful coats ranging from shining white to a rich chesnut, Their manes and tails shone in the metallic colors of precious metals. Their horns and hooves did as well, though those two were different colors than their hair. In other ways however, they were nothing like he expected. Their eyes were black and beady with no pupils, and their horns...well, Thomas didn’t want to think about them longer than he had to. Several of the unicorns had what looked like dried blood on their sharp horns. Some of the wilder ones seemed to have some on their hooves as well. 

“Mother Rhea..” Logan breathed out, a look of horrified awe on his face as they got closer, eyeing the horns.

“By Jupiter’s entrails Roman!” Virgil cursed, “What in tartarus' name kind of unicorns are those Meta Knight-?” He touched down next to them, turning back into his human form, staring slack-jawed at the unicorns.

“Is that...real blood?” Patton asked, looking a little squeamish

“Probably..” Roman said, turning back into a human and letting the others fall to the ground. 

“Do immortals have normal looking blood..?” Thomas asked

“It resembles your human blood, yes-” Logan nodded

“Seriously Roman, what kind of unicorns are those?” Virgil asked, looking hesitant to get closer

“Not what you were expecting Sunshine?” Roman chuckled

“Not even close-”

“Well, as long as your intentions are pure, you’ll be fine Virgil…” Roman grinned, “Come on, let’s go in!”


End file.
